When Rasaun Young, left, and his brother Rashiem were growing up in New Rochelle, they spent a lot of time playing basketball at these Lincoln Park courts. / Rory Glaeseman / The Journal News

Written by

JOE LOMBARDI

THE JOURNAL NEWS

He didn't much care for the food, but Rashiem Young will never forget the three weeks he spent in China this summer.

The former New Rochelle High basketball star, now 33, was among the coaches who worked at a five-city clinic that included stops in Beijing and Shanghai.

"We were there basically to teach Chinese kids ages 10 to 23 how to play basketball," Young said. "We did four-hour sessions with each group we worked with each day. At the end of the day, I was exhausted."

And before long, he also grew tired of the limited number of culinary choices.

"The Chinese food over there is totally different than what you get here," Young said. "There are lots of vegetables. I wound up eating so much McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC while I was there. If it wasn't for that, I may have fasted. I love the green tea, but I couldn't get with the food."

Young's trip might be the most stark example of where the game has taken him, and how it always has been a big part of his life.

The same can be said for his younger brother, Rasaun Young, who also remains immersed in basketball. Rasaun, a varsity assistant and head freshman coach at Mount Vernon, was MVP of the Hoops in the Sun summer tournament at Orchard Beach in the Bronx. The former University at Buffalo star was these newspapers' Westchester/Putnam player of the year at New Rochelle in 1993.

For Rasaun, winning MVP of the summer league was a bonus. What he really enjoyed was showing, at 31, that he can still play with the young guys such as Geoff McDermott, another former Huguenots star and now a sophomore at Providence.

"The nights we had games, Geoff would call me on my cell phone and say, 'Hey Crabby, are you on your way?' " said Young, who is still known by the nickname he picked up as a youngster because his favorite character on the "Little Rascals" TV show was the teacher, Miss Crabtree. "That's my inspiration. I was just talking to one of my friends and he said, 'You're still playing because you want to play with Geoff.' I've known Geoff since he was a kid at Albert Leonard Middle School, and always knew he was going to be a talent because he was a big kid who ran the point-guard position."

Both Rashiem and Rasaun still live in New Rochelle and work at Albert Leonard — Rashiem as a teacher's aide, and Rasaun as a general school aide.

And that's not the only similar paths the two have taken.

Rashiem, a 6-foot-4 forward/center, attended Buffalo State, where he was a two-year starter at power forward. He spent the next eight years as an assistant coach at his alma mater.

Rasaun, a 6-2 combination guard, starred at Division I University at Buffalo during part of Rashiem's playing-and-coaching tenure at the same city's Division III school.

The two also run the Young World Basketball Camp at the Remington Boys and Girls Club. Next year will be its fourth year.

Rashiem, who has a 10-year-son, will be getting married in April. Rasaun, who has been married for three years, has daughters ages 10 and 6.

While they share the same passion for basketball, their personalities are their own.

"It seems like our lives have turned," Rashiem said. "He used to be real silly; now he's the serious one. When I was younger, I was real serious; now I'm more laid-back and easygoing. I kind of look at it like life is too short. I think that bothers him sometimes."

"When we were young, Rashiem had to fill the role of man in the house because our dad wasn't around," Rasaun said. "He's always had a job since he was real young. I have a lot of stuff going on with these kids and marriage, so I'm the more serious one now. But now he's getting married for the first time, so I say to him, 'You'll see.' "

Rasaun, who also works for the New Rochelle Fire Department, said his outlook on life changed after 9/11. At the time, he was about to start his second season playing professionally in Cyprus.

"I played one year in Greece and led the league in scoring," said Young, who also played in the USBL with the Connecticut Skyhawks and in the International Basketball Association with the Saskatchewan Hawks. "I was supposed to leave to go back right after 9/11, but I decided to stay home with my kids. It took something like that for me to put things in perspective."

Both brothers plan on coaching indefinitely.

"Some people gave me a hard time because I'm coaching at Mount Vernon," said Rasaun, who was Section 1's top scorer his senior year, leading New Rochelle into the Class A sectional title game, where it lost to the rival Knights 75-57. "My brother and I applied for the New Rochelle varsity job (in 2003) and didn't get it, and that kind of hurt. It was very disappointing, but you have to move on in life.

"But I don't care if it's in the North Pole coaching polar bears — I want to coach."

Rashiem, who coached the Westchester Hawks' select AAU 14-and-under team last year, just started a new job doing one-on-one and team workouts three days a week at the Brewster Sports Center. He's also worked a boys camp for ages 10-18 in Los Angeles for the Lakers the last eight summers, as well as the Knicks' summer camp.

"If it weren't for basketball, I wouldn't have been in China; I wouldn't have been with the Lakers," Rashiem said. "Basketball has been like an airline ticket for me. I've met so many people through the game.

"I can't play as much as I'd like to because I'm getting older, but God gave me a gift to teach players. Even if they're not as successful as they want to be on the court, it will help lead them in the right direction in life. I teach kids that if you dream it, you can become it.

"These kids went down the same road that we went. Who better to show them? We're not rich, but we're happy. That's more important."